Cultivator.



. Patented Apr. 29,1902.

W. C. E/VANTS. cuLTlvAToR.

No. 698,9I3.

(Appucation mea Jan, 1:31901.;

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT @serena4` WILLIAM CLARK EvANTs, or ANTIooI-I, CALIFORNIA.

CU LTIVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming paris Of Letters Patent No. 698,913, dated April 29, 1902.

Application filed Tannary 15, 1901. Serial No. 43,385.- (No model.)

To all whom, it nur/y concern: I

Be it 'known that l, iVILLIAiI CLARK EVANTs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Antioch, in the county of Contra Costa and State off-California, have invented a newand useful Cultivator, of which the following is a specification.

This inventionrelates to cultivators, and has for its object to provide in connection.

with the machine a'fender which is located upon the outer side of the outermost shovel and which acts to prevent injury to delicate plants by the overturning of dirt or largev relation to the trunks of 'trees or be thrown off the line of draft, so as to enable the ma?l chine to operate in close proximity to drills or rows of plants; also, to provide a steering-- wheel which is adapted to penetrate the soil,

and thereby obtain a more effective engage-l ment therewith. The necessity for providing upwardly projecting handles is thus doneA away with, and the Inachine is thereby adapt-.

ed to be used in orchards and operated among trees with short trunks and low hanging boughs. The steering-wheelby cutting into the soil also prevents the'accidental sheering or swaying of the machinein either direction laterally, and thus causing inadvertent in-` frame similar to those located at the rear of jury to plants, trees, etc.'

These and other objects will appear morev fully in the course of the ensuing description. The invention consists in a cultivator em'-` bodying certain novel features and details'of construction and arrangement of parts, as

hereinafter fully described," illustrated in the tral bar 1 and side bars 2, which have their forward ends bolted or otherwise secured to opposite sides of the bar l, said side bars divergng from their point of connection with the central bar rearwardly andl provided at their rear extremities with lifting-handles 3. Adjacent to their rear ends the side bars 2 are connected by brace bars 4, extending transversely of the machine-frame and having their opposite ends bent 'at an angle, as shown at 5, and firmly secured by any suit- 'able fastening means to the central and side bars of the frame. The side bars are further connected by a cross bar or rod 6, arranged about centrally of the frame, said bar being preferably round, so as to form afulcruin for a pair of supports hereinafter described.

A clevis-head 7 is located at the front end of.. the frame, said clevis.- head being seg- 'mental in shape and provided with a plurality of openings 8 to receive a detachable prin 9, passing through registering openings in the fork 10 of the draft-hook 11. The extremities of the fork-arms of the hook are pivotally connected at 12 to the clevis-head, ythe pivot 12 beingarranged at the same distance' from each of the openings 8, thereby enabling the clevis or draft-hook to be rocked upward or downward and fastened at any desired angle with relation to the machineframe.' By this means the point of attach- -nientA of the draft-animalsto the cultivator-v frame may be raised or lowered, thereby regulating the depth of penetration of the shovels. The forward portion of the frame is also provided with a vertical opening 13, adapted to receive the shank of a supporting caster-wheel the machine and to be hereinafter more particularly described.

` Connected adjustably to each side bar 2 is av series of standards 14, provided at their lower ends with cultivating-shovels 15. The standards are substantially square or rectangular in cross-section and are secured against the side bars by means of clamps 16, the central portion of each clamp being adapted to partiallyy embrace the standard 'and having oppositely-projecting ears 17jto receive bolts 18, which pass therethrough and also through the sidebar.. 4'lheclamps 16 hold the standards 14 rigidly in place and at the IOO same time provide for the vertical adjustment of the standards, which may be accomplished by loosening the bolts 1S. The shovels 15 are similarly formed, being made from a substantially oblong piece of metal, and each is provided with a concaved lower portion which is dished from the front or active side of the shovel, as best illustrated in Fig. 2, thereby providing a concaved lower edge l9,which is sharpened to form a cutter for severing the roots and other' undergrowlh. By dishing the lower portion of the shovels in the manner described and illustrated the side edges 2O of the shovel are caused to project forward in advance of the central portion of the shovelebody, and such side edges are sharpened to form twin cutters, which also operate to sever and destroy weeds, roots, and undergrowth of all kinds. The upper portion of the shovel is dished in the opposite direction, or from the back, thus providing a convexed 'clearance-surface, as shown in Fig. ,2, the side parts 2l ot' the upper portion of the shovelhody being deflected toward the rear, thus enabling the shovel to divide and clear itself from the upturned soil. The shovel is secured to its standard 14 by means of bolts 22 or in any approved manner. In order to properly center the forward shovel, it is preferablysecured to the central cross-bar l, as illus- ,trated in Fig. l ot' the drawings.

Upon the outside of those shovels which are arranged the farthest from the center line of draft of the machine are arranged fenders 23, each comprising a substantially horizontal straight body portion 24 in the t'orm of a plate,l which is im perforate, and an attaching portion 25, which is bolted or otherwise secured to one of the side frame-bars. The body of the fender is disposed obliquely orat an angle to the line of draft of the machine and is located outside of the outermost shovel and serves a double purpose-namely, to prevent large clods of earth and heavylumps of soil from being thrown over against young and tender plants to the injury of the latter and also to prevent the shovels from coming in contact with vthe trunks of trees in orchards and other places where the cultivator is being operated.

The rear end of the cultivator-frame is supported and carried by means of a pair of wheels 26, journaled in forks or frames 27, having vertically-disposed Shanks 28, which pass throughvertical bearings 29, adjacent to the rear ends of the side bars 2. Each shank 28 is provided with a longitudinal series of transverse openings 30, designed to receive a plurality of adjusting-pins 3l, two of said pins being employed in connection with each shank 28 and arranged one above and the other beneath the bearing 29, so as to prevent vertical movement of the shank while allowing the free rotary movement thereof. By the means described the supporting-wheels 26 are adj ustabl y connected with the machineframe and may be set higher orlower by changing the adjusting-pins 3l from one set of holes to another.

At the center of the rearof the machine is arranged a steering-wheel 32. This wheel has its periphery sharpened and brought to a `knife-edge 33, so that it maypenetrate the soil and. obtain a firm hold thereon. Said wheel is journaled'on an axle 34, carriedby a fork or frame 35, having a stem or shank 36, which'is journaled in a vertical bearing 37 on the machine-frame and preferably car'- ried by the rear extremity ofthe central framebar l. Mounted on' the upper end of the shank or stem 36 and non-rotatably engaging therewith is a tiller'39, extending rearwardly and also inclined upwardly and provided at its rear ehd with an operating-handle 40. By this means the operator may walk behind the cultivator and by manipulating the tiller may turn the steering-wheel 32 to one side or the other, and thereby cause the machine to sheer laterally to one side of the normal line of draft. This enables the operator to steer the machine up close to the trunks of trees or drills of plants of all kinds without directing the draft-animal to one side or the other. The steering-wheel also prevents the machine from accidentally sheering od to one side, so as to injure the plants or trees being cultivated. By omitting the usual upwardly-extending handles employed in this type of machine the improved cultivator may he readily driven under low-hanging boughs, thus adapting it particularly to the cultivation of orchards, &;c.

Journ aled upon the cross-bar 6 is a plurality of supports 4l. These supports may be connected with the cross-bar 6 in any desired manner; but for convenience I have shown such cross-bars provided with metal straps 42, the ends of which are secured to the supports and the central portions of which partially encircle the rod or bar 6 and lie between positioning-collars 43, two of such collars being used for each swinging support, so

as to prevent it from moving laterally in either` swing rearwardly and drop the cultivator-v shovels into engagement with the ground,l

after which the supports 4l trail and drag along the surface of the ground in the manner illustrated in Fig. l.

From the foregoing it is thought that the construction, operation, and many advantages of the herein-described cultivator will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art without further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of cone IOO IIO

struction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is-

l. In combination with the triangular frame of the walking-cultivator, the draft appliances at the apex of the frame, the cultivator-shovels applied to the sides of the frame, the supporting-wheels at the rear end of each side of the frame, and the steeringwheel located at the rear end of the frame and arranged intermediate of the supporting-Wheels, and consisting of a peripherallysharpened rotary disk, and a hand-operated tiller connected rigidly to the steering-Wheel frame and extending 'rearwardly therefrom.

2. In a cultivator, the combination With a triangular frame, Cultivator-shovels located at opposite sides ofthe frame and fenders carried by the frame and disposed at the outer sides of the shovels and in close proximity to the ground, of a steering-Wheel located at the rear end of the frame and having a sharpened periphery designed to enter the ground, means for shifting the position of the steering-Wheel to guide the cultivator without necessity for tilting the latter, and supporting devices for the cultivator-frame, sad'devices being located at the rear end of the frame and at opposite sides of theAsteering-Wheel, to prevent the tilting of the cultivator-frame, whereby frame in advance of the shovels, and extended obliquely beyond the outer sides ofthe shovels and in close proximity to the ground, of a steering-wheel located at the center of therear end of the frame to guide the cultivator without necessitating tilting. of the latter, said steering-Wheelvhaving a sharpened periphery desi gnedto enter the ground, verti- `callydispo'sed Shanks located at the opposite sides ofthe rear end ofthe frame, supporting- Wheels carried by said Shanks to prevent the tilting of the frame and thepenetration of the ground by the fenders, said supporting-l Wheels also serving to limit the penetration of the ground by the steering Wheel, and means for shifting the steering-Wheel to effeot the steering ofthe cultivator. 'y

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signatn re in the presence of two Witnesses.

VILLIAM CLARK EVANTS.

Vitnesses: Y

GEORGE JARADINE, JOHN THOMAS. 

